Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s “Cheek to Cheek” album hits stores Tuesday.
Much has been said about the great relationship that has developed between Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — despite the six-decade age difference between the two artists.
Their much-anticipated collaborative jazz album, “Cheek to Cheek,” comes out Tuesday, with the legendary crooner and pop diva teaming up to sing great American standards penned by the likes of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern.
Not only do the famous singers born Anthony Benedetto and Stefani Germanotta (Gaga’s real name) share their proud Italian-American heritage, but Bennett says he and Gaga clicked because she’s “a great performer … very intelligent, and a fantastic jazz singer.”
What really amused Bennett was how into their joint recording Gaga got, telling me, “She has this knack for turning everything into something glamorous.” Gaga surprised Bennett one day. He walked into their recording studio to discover she had it basically turned into a movie set — complete with chandeliers, carpeting and antique chairs, “knowing cameras would be there to film it all.”
As for Bennett, he still has a lot he wants to accomplish. “I’m 88, and feel like I’m just getting started. No way I’ll retire! I love what Duke Ellington said, ‘Retire to what?!'”
